Hiram berdan



H l BERDAN.

Metallic Cartridge.

No, 82,587. l Patented sept. 29, 1868.v

ibatrut @ffice @uitrit y HIRAM BERDAN, OF NEW-YORK, N. ASSIGNOR TO THE BERDAN FIRE- ARMS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF THE SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 82,587, dated September 29, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN METALLIC CARTRIDGES.

die S-tlgetult referat tain these etttw iglixtmtmrt linking @nrt nt tige sans.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN;

Be it known that I, HIRAM BEnDnN, of -the city, county, and State ot' New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cartridges for Breach-Loading Fire-Arms; and I- do-hereby declare that thc following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same,'reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in. which- A i Figure 1 is a longitudinal outside view, on an enlarged scale, of a cartridge with my improvements.

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same, the charge of powder being omitted to enable the re-enforcement of the head of the shell to be more plainly seen. l

Similar. letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

The rst part of this invention relates to the re-enforcement of the head of the metal shell of a cartridge Aby means of an. internal liningcup of metal, und its object is to prevent the 'swelling of' the rear portion of the shell bythe insertion of su'eh.c up, which isliabl'e to occur whenthc said cup is secured'in place by being driven tightly into the shell, as heretofore has been commonly done; and' to this end, it consists in securing the said cup in place by providing in the bottom of' the said cup an opening or cavity, and providing the head of the shcllwith an internal projection, which fits tightly into said opening orUavity, and uponv which the said cup-is driven tightly, the exterior ofthe said cu`p being made to fit easily into the interior ofthe shell.

The second part of the invention relates to the use ofK patched bullets in cartridges with metal shells.

The advantage of patching bullets when accurate shooting isdesired, is too well known to require explanation here. I-Iitberto, however, it has not been considered practicable to use patched bullets in metal-eased cartridges for breech-loaders, -and with the copper shells heretofore commonly used, it has been totally impracticable, for, owing to the inelastieity'ot' copper when the shell has been made oi' that metal, of ordinary thickness, the tightness with which it has been necessary to drive 'in the bullet, to insure its retention therein, has caused the part of the shell which receives the bullet to be bulged or swelled out, and the bullet or patch has had to be drivep in so far that there would'not be left protruding from the shell a suicient length of patch to enter as far'as desirable into' the bore of the barrel beyond the shell, in loading; land, if the-metal has been made thicker, the 'tightness above mentioned has caused the patch, when triade of paper, which is the only material practicable for patching the bullets of suchicartridges, to be torn from the bullet in inserting the latter into the shell.

After many experiments, I have found that by using a patch of thin but very tough paper, and a cartridgeshell drawn from rolled sheet brass, which is very elastic, the patched bullet may be inserted into thovshell so easily, and yet be held by the elasticity of the shell withsuilicient security, without either bulging the shell perceptibly or tearing the patch -andthis part of my invention consists in the combination of a patched bullet with a' brass cartridge-shell.

To enable others to understand fully the constructiony andwoperation ot' my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A is the metal shell of the cartridge,'rnade substantially of' the usual form, except that it is contracted from c forward, and that the centre of tbe headis'depressed inward from the exterior in such a manner as to form a cylindrical or very slightly-conical projection, c, in the interior of the shell.

The contraction above mentioned is not, however,'esscntial'to.{hc carrying out of 'the present invention, and the' depression in the head is not of itself a part ofthe said invention, asit serres the purpose for which such'a depression has been previously used, namely, as a. receptacle for the percussiornprimer b.

B is the re-enforce, made of brass, or other -metal or material, and tted snugly'but quite easily into the part ofthe shell in front ofthe head, and having acentral openingor cavity, e, in its bottom, fitting tightly on to thc projection c in the interior ofthe shell,l

This cup is inserted into the shell before the, forward part is contracted, and is driven down tightly on to the projection c, with a punch of suitable character, and thereby secured in the shell without any reliance upon the fit of' its exterior to the interior of the shell, thereby preventing any bulging of the shell in front of the head which might interfere with loading, but yet tting so snugly to the sides of the shell that when the cartridge is rcd, the sides of the cup willat once expand against the shell, and so insure perfectlre-enforcemen-t and protection. This method of' securing the re-enforce-cup is applicable to shell's of brass, copper, or any other metaL e i C is the bullet, Dis the patch, made of thin linen paper, such as is used for bank-notes, rolled tightly round the cylindrical portion to the extent of about two thicknesses, and then drawn over .its base, and tied, or otherwise secured.

To prepare the brass shell for'the reception of the bullet thuspatched, the mouthofl the shell has its edge slightly bevelled inward, as shown at z'z'f by means of a punch, which enters the shell while the latter is held in a die. The shell having been thus prepared, the patched bullet is inserted byany suitable means whereby Lits axis is kept in line with the axis ofthe bullet` The elastic character of the brass of which the shell is composed, causes the bullet to be held with sufficient What I claim as my invention, and `desire to' secure by Letters Patent, is i 1. Securing the reenforce-.cup in the cartridge-shell by means of a projection on the interior of 'the head of the shell, and an opening or cavity in the bo'ttom of the cup fitting tightly on the said projection, substantially aseand for the purpose hereinidescribed.

2. The combination of the patched bullet and the brass cartridge-shell, drawn from sheet metal, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

H. BERDAN.

Witnesses:

A. LE CLERC, J. W. CooMBs 

